Biking & Urban Sports Deals & Offers

I'm browsing these cycle threads to find a cycle to work compatible ebike but always put off by the cycle aficionado who ALWAYS has some negative point to make about the battery, power, gearing, motor etc. I realise there will always be some negative point to make as the perfect ebike probably costs as much as a car but there must be a good compromise bike at the £1K mark. I mean that's a lot of money in my books for a bike. At this rate I doubt I'll ever find cycling as an alternative to driving (annoyed)

Best of luck.

Cycle to work is changing as DFT have lifted the cap for £1000

Halfords own Cycle Republic, in case you weren't aware. Prices aren't always the same across both though.

Now becomes available on the old style cycle to work scheme £1k limit that some employers use. Still think most will be frustrated by the tiny battery range, but sub 15 mile round trip commuters or those that charge at work and at home might be tempted. Nice component set though and reasonably light for an ebike

Sent yesterday Adrian.

It's not the best website, but you will get a price on it (just make sure you select a fitting centre). There are no add-ons if you call them (all new valves and recycling included) and you get things like tyre rotation (I once had a garage want to charge me £15 for the few minutes it would have taken to rotate my tyres) and nitrogen inflation all included. Nitrogen is generally an extra anywhere else. However, I did notice that the website is 'shipping only' with fitting an extra £8.40. Costco is not always the cheapest, but it is one of the best places for tyres and fitting services.I don't always buy my tyres there, but I always check them first.

Dm me I can tell you.

Sorry but that's a stupid website they have. I wanted to find out whether it's worth it to become a member, because its £15 a year for, and then i checked for prices on Michelin tyres for my Peugeot 206 cc, i couldn't find a price anywhere on the site! So really, how do we know whether we're getting a good deal of not? I hate websites like this, and then when you do get a membership you find out they've added stuff on top and it works out more expensive, complete rippoff

I had 2 tyres fitted at Costco and was extremely impressed by their service compared the the Black Circles back street guys. They sorted out a rim that had been leaking for 2 years (having been back to the original fitter a few times).

Will this be good for double black downhill runs?

;( am a cycling noob. And dont understand that. Will Google it asap (cheeky) Oh now I get the joke :S ;(

Have you tried remapping the ecu?

It may be a horrendous name but whacking your comment on a useful post by bonzobanana doesn’t cover you in glory.

Are you saying you prefer the Apollo Phaze or just being critical of cheap bikes in general?

Both the cheapest and the most expensive helmets have to go through the same tests to meet the required certification. Some of the higher end helmets might do that in a more stylish way or might achieve it with a lighter weight or maybe be more aerodynamic but it's the same tests. With bicycle frames it is the cheapest heaviest steel frames that often exceed the their tests by the highest margins. You'd never know that listening to most cyclists who seem to think you can reduce a weight of a product by a huge margin and still have greater strength and durability just because it costs more. Saying that you do get products with fake certification sometimes and while I like poundstretcher it seems like the type of shop that is always sourcing the very, very cheapest goods that would be more likely to have fake certification. There may be a clue to the actual manufacturer on the packaging or paperwork and then you can check online to see if it is a good manufacturer and approved/accredited by CNAS or similar Chinese authority. Good fully certified helmets come out of Chinese factories for only $2-3 possibly less. At £7.99 that would be a fair margin but if they are struggling to sell them they may be selling at cost or even below. It's only a bit of plastic and foam and fairly simple to manufacture. It is not expensive to make a high quality bicycle helmet. It's not what a product costs to make it's what people are prepared to pay that counts. People who are obsessed with their own or their families safety can be manipulated to spend much more money than they really need to.

Better than no hat! Its a helmet anyway not a hat if we are being pedantic but i get your attempt to deprecate lol! Sadly it looks like it has failed! :p Nice deal for us cyclists who have never worn a helmet in 40 years its getting nasty on the roads now! Too many fanneees in their baseball caps with the rap music blaring out tryin so hard to be "gangsta" and puffin the reefa! I always carry a chib now cycling in Glasgow - mess with me you get a broken windscreen! Total twaaaaaaaaaatsssssss saw one today in a black Ferrari what a fudd too busy checking out how many people were looking at his fuddcar he hit a lamppost and i didnt have my gopro - youtube class moment missed! (cheeky)

No helmet and riding with only one hand on the handlebars and the other on the phone... ..that is an organ donor waiting to happen......

Like different colour EPS foam (confused)

i don't bother with a helmet. Im used to riding a motorbike and look out for everything.

Def the Rolls Royce of this type of carrier. Also got this a few years..

Good bike rack. Been using mine for 5 years now. Bare in mind you'll probably need a light board and number plate (and the additional socket in your car).

Had this, then had a tow mount, now have a van

Got this carrier, too. Can thoroughly recommend.

I borrowed this from a friend a couple of weeks ago and it was really easy to set up. Really good bike rack.

Just returned mine. They are VERY small. I have normal/medium sized hands and with the strap undone I could not get my hand in. Should be labelled Small/Youth. Probably why they have just dropped another pound to try to get people to take them err.... off their hands.

Fair-do’s. Never had a problem with the fingerless ones, then again it is down to technique and of course the weight you are lifting! Most important thing is comfort, as it is with the cycling gloves.

Nah, I dont like fingerless gym gloves, as the bar still rips my hands. I have Reebox gym gloves, and they are not fingerless

You would want to take the scissors to the fingers though! They look more like workmen gloves to me.

Looks like a solid pair of gym gloves

I beg to differ mate - especially in London! We have LEZ, ULEZ, Congestion charge. My poor mate from Yorkshire popped into central London in his diesel van and got slapped with a £1,000 fine. I can only speak for london but these scooters take up a lot less space than bikes and at limited speeds say 15mph they are also relatively safe as long as you have a helmet and are in a designated lane/zone. I think these would be a great alternative to bikes. Being electric and foldable makes them convenient to carry around public transport. This is pretty much the real life alternative to a hoverboard. They could definitely take off but they'd need government support.

Plenty of people doing just that in parts of London, seen a few people with them on the mersey trains in liverpool, if they make them legal can see them taking of big time, the question is will are government want to keep us in cars so they can tax us to death, goverment only really Interested in the environment if they can tax people on it, the motorist is an easy cash cow for the UK government so they are not going to want to lose that money anytime soon, especially as we have a growing population that they need to flourish in benefits to keep the votes coming in.

It's not a bicycle. It's classed as a motor vehicle so you need to tax, insure & register it and then you can use it on the road. Yes, the regulations are stupid.

Yeah, I've seen people scoot around near Liverpool St whizzing past other commuters. The regulations should be on par with bikes. These early models seem to have quite a few problems so I'll wait until regulations and standards get up to date

yeah same here, hope they introduce laws & regulations for them so we can use them with a clear conscious. I've rode past police in london and canterbury without any problems but have heard of them beginning to crackdown on it

That just seems to be a typical moronic bike snob attitude. Why are you mentioning a full day in the saddle surely that is a more of a niche use. Many buy bikes for a shortish commute and they can get a lot of abuse and risk of theft. Some people may not want to buy a secondhand bike with worn out components and the expense of replacing those parts. There are just too many variables. Some people are not obsessed with bike weight in fact the majority of the world aren't. Carbon fibre bikes make up a tiny percentage of world bike sales. High performance lightweight road bikes have a long history of being the least comfortable bikes with many people preferring comfort, city or leisure bikes which are much heavier but they prefer a more comfortable bike with a more relaxed riding position. The idea that your views represent the only way people should buy a bike are quite ridiculous many people will buy different bikes to suit their needs and there are 100s of different types of bikes. You talk about this bike being worthless but it costs close to £90 the most you can risk losing is £90. I've seen high end bikes that cost as much as £6,000 sell for less than £1,000 after maybe 3-4 years of ownership that is £5,000 lost. I've seen forum postings where someone has bought a bike close to £4,000 but just a few months later the bike is on clearance for £2,500 as next years models are introduced that is £1,500 lost in just a few weeks. I honestly think if you are comparing depreciation you have really lost the plot. This bike would be an easy sale for probably £50 s/hand and if you got the right customer you might even get your money back. It's one of those universal size, unisex designs that means pretty much anyone of any size or gender can ride it and its certainly affordable to the majority. I'd say cheap bikes move quite quickly on ebay, gumtree, schpock but high end bikes can take a long time to shift unless the owner sells them for peanuts. Lets not forget the average price of a bike sold in the UK is about £230 which means the vast majority of bikes sold are at the budget end. Higher end bikes are a niche product. I imagine that is changing thanks to e-bikes though. Halfords have something like 25% of the UK cycle market by revenue and that could be as high as 40% in actual bicycle units sold. So lets not pretend that you represent a sensible majority as you actually represent a tiny niche of cyclists who are obsessed about bike weight. It's clear most people are not willing to pay for a lightweight bike they are just looking for a reliable, sensible bike with competent components. There is also a chinese factory door price average figure which is only about $70 for bikes sold in Europe and only about $50 for Africa. The factory door to retail price difference is about 4-5x on average so not surprising. https://www.bikebiz.com/average-price-of-a-bike-is-just-233/

You'll need a fork lift to move it -avoid at all costs. For that kind of money you could pick up a half decent bike on ebay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/C-Boardman-Road-Comp-Bike-53-cm/312673172936?hash=item48ccc5fdc8:g:H6MAAOSwEvRc-VZI

85kg, keen cyclist here. What you say is completely incorrect. Such a rider can easily both tell the difference and experience the performance improvements that come from riding a lighter, better spec'ed bikes. There's a few reasons for this, but chiefly it's down to the rolling weight (nothing saps a bike of its feel like a pair of heavy wheels), stiffness of the chassis while still providing a good quality ride and the feel of the controls, notably gears and brakes. The difference that a decent quality bike makes on a full day in the saddle is quite amazing - in fact, I strongly suspect that fatigue and discomfort would probably make it nearly impossible to ride the bike in this deal all day. Unquestionably, you can buy a decent bike without spending thousands (Shimano's latest 105 groupset is a testament to this - it shifts every bit as well as mechanical dura-ace but with a weight penalty and at a fraction of the cost), but to say that you won't notice the difference between even a decent mid-range bike and the one in this deal is, I'm afraid, completely incorrect. My other concern here is that the sizing of this frame, combined with the low cost, might see many parents choosing it for their children. This is about the worst possible combination as nothing will put someone off from cycling like a cheap, heavy, poor-quality bike and I would bet good money that, as a result of this, a high proportion of these bikes do less miles in their entire lifetime than my 10yo son does on his bike in an average month. If you want to buy a bike for kids, then my advice has remained unchanged for years: buy a second-hand Islabike. Luath for road, Beinn or Creig for offroad, depending on your requirements. Yes, it'll cost you £300 rather than < £100, but when your child inevitably grows out of it, you'll sell it on for the same £300 and the net cost to you will be virtually zero. The £100 bike will be worthless the moment you take it out of the shop, even if you never use it. tl;dr - cheap != good deal.

It's not really a small person's frame by the looks of it. They state 'inside leg measurement 28”-36” '. It looks to me with the top tube sloping down to the seat post and a height adjustable quill stem the bike is designed for a universal fit across a wide range of sizes. I mean 36" inside leg is huge that is someone probably 6'4" or more for a male or maybe 6'2" for a female. I would expect the seatpost to be quite long. If you just look at that frame and draw a horizontal line across from the top of the top tube on the right to the left side the frame looks more like a 54cm frame but the sloping top tube makes its more female friendly. I disagree about frame materials but I think if you ever see a bike frame in a test rig at least a steel frame you will see it is the seat stays and chain stays that move most as the frame is tested. Many chromoly steel frames with a double butted downtube may still use high tensile steel for other parts of the frame including the seatstays and chainstays. There are many parts to a bicycle that create a suspension effect and smooth ride though including tyres, spokes, rims, stem, handlebars, seatpost, saddle etc. 7005 frames are notorious for giving a harsh ride but 6061 is more fatigue resistant and less brittle although slightly weaker than 7005 and tends to offer better ride quality overall. For that reason many 7005 frames are designed with the classic double triangle frame design where the top of the seat stay is at the same level as the top tube to prevent flexing but many 6061 road bike frames can have the seat stay slightly lower on the seat tube to allow more flexing. Anyway as previously stated many road bikes have steel forks up until a certain price point whether they have an aluminium frame or steel frame and beyond that they use carbon forks. The industry knows what it is doing striking a balance between ride comfort and bike weight. This is not a bike too concerned about bike weight basically so they use both steel forks and frame achieving maximum comfort.

This bike is only available in 48cm size for smaller people who won’t stress frames and would benefit more with a lighter bike, the extra weight of this bike will be very noticeable on uphill climbs. My experience with cheap heavy steel frames is they have no flex and are much harsher and less comfortable than a lighter alloy alternative. Only the expensive better designed steel frames with double butted Reynolds type tubing will you get the flex needed for a comfortable ride. I don’t think frame materials are as important as they used to be, its more about cost, the more you spend the better the bike will be built using variable walled and shaped tubing to produce one which is either strong or light whatever is required. My current road bike has an alloy frame and carbon fork,most comfortable bike i have due more to the fit and design than the material its made of, though carbon does seem to be the best choice for a front fork.

@ already has a t in it fella. Not the brightest are ya?

You’re (remember, that’s “you are”), welcome.

Thank you grammar police

You’re, not your.

Check out a couple reviews, and you won't be disappointed I don't think.

I'm after a commuter bike for my 10 mile round trip to work and back. My main motivation for an ebike is that I don't want to be sweaty when I get to work (I'd literally get a throttle bicycle if they were legal!). My route to work isn't especially hilly but there are a couple of gentle climbs. Anyway, I hadn't really planned on getting a mountain bike specifically (had envisaged something a bit more conservative with a more upright seating position), but actually don't mind the way this one looks. Does anyone know if this bike currently represents the best value for 1000 pound for what I'm after?

^^Chill Winston.

"Two words: up grade" - "upgrade" is one word "I can get 40mph out of it on a smooth pavement." - This is illegal, on the pavement or on the road. "...yet Ive got the freedom to not wear a helmet..." - you're a moron, especially at the speeds you made up in your post. "...and I can ride on the pavement when I need to..." - This is also illegal, but I don't suppose you care based on the line above Well done. You should apply to HUKD for a medal for your 1st class troll post, because apart from that, it has no value whatsoever.

Appears to have dropped back to £1,000 - so unexpired. Also now £1,000 on Halfords website, too

Having owned the Crossfire and Crossfuse, I'm suggesting the Crossfire Hub Motor is better than the Bosch Mid Drive. Now battery life it isn't, but that's probably why, it does less work, the hub motor just feels so much nicer.

Bikes are amazing

Maybe the bottle will Crack n Fail? ;)

Some bikes are superb...although yes you do get the odd duffer! :D

Hope they aren’t as badly manufactured as their bikes are.

£3 delivery is a deal breaker sadly :o

You've only got to drop it and it falls down and hits concrete and you are meant to replace it. That is a quick goodbye to £115. Doesn't appear to have 'Giro' either so no enhanced safety just lights built in. I'll admit I'm not totally convinced by 'Giro' it's licensed technology and has nothing to do with the certification of such helmets but still if I'm paying £115 for a helmet I'd expect to get 'Giro' built in. All helmets sold in the UK have to meet the correct certification so any helmet that fits well does the job. The only way you could get a uncertified helmet is probably a personal import buying through aliexpress etc.

I mean I'm all for helmets .. but a) any helmet sold in the EU must conform to certain standards, £5 or £500. B) research in the field isn't conclusive

You can get deals on pretty decent ones- all 100% compliant. Believe me - I ride and enjoy whacking my head for fun.

If you're spending £16 on your helmet you really don't care about your head.

Rechargeable strip lights - 3.99 helmet - 15.99 . Price does not compute

Problem being, how many disclaimers are people going to sign accepting all responsibility before an accident even occurs ? Its not going to happen and disclaimers like that are quite probably not even legal in any case. Also (on a side note) , regardless of fault, you can be lawfully riding a pedal cycle and a pedestrian can walk into your path whilst texting on a mobile phone, oblivious of their surroundings. Then, the cyclist gets taken to court and faces £20k + of legal bills and gets fined for the injuries the pedestrian sustained !! (shock) These laws need addressing as this is simply ridiculous as it is... Rant over ! Lol

Bigger hazard are the armada of mobility scooters blocking every inch of paths. Plus double buggies. I reckon that rather than imposing more regulation you should be able to sign a disclaimer accepting all responsibility in case of injury and death.

That would not make any difference at all , its like a person on a motorbike with no insurance riding on footpaths - they'd still get fined / points on licence / possible ban. That said, I am not entirely convinced that the police would/could be bothered to do anything about people riding e-scooters sensibly on cycle paths to be honest. ;) There is a lot of talk on the laws being revised as popularity of e-scooters has increased. If you are allowed e-bikes upto 15.5mph then I see no valid reason why e-scooters are not allowed too. Maybe they could have a minimum age applied to riding them to stop the local kids causing havoc on the paths. Other than that I see no reason why the law would not get changed in the near future.

Ride on the pavement then

yes lot of nasty tweets to investigate

This is a great deal on these tyres.

Thanks alot guys... Been really busy so havent had time to check on here, but thanks. I'll see what I can do. I've got the bike sat in my mates kitchen cupboard and he's away doing festival security just now so I can't check atm!

Haven't even done 200 miles on my gp4000 yet ... Still tempted

Bertz has already answered this and a budget mountain bike at around £180 in Decathlon could be 26" or 27.5" wheels unless it was some sort of special offer and could be 29". The tyres should be marked with the ERTRO number which is 622 for 29" , 559 for 26" and 584 for 27.5". Then you need the tyre width which could be 2" for example so you would need a inner tube of the right size that matches that tyre width. Could be 559, 26" 1.5-2.10" for example as long as the width of the tyre fits in with the range of the inner tube. Lastly you will likely need the tubes to have Schrader valves like cars but check the existing valve visually to see what it is. There are some good guides on youtube how to change a tube. If you are buying a tyre try to match it for size and type with the other wheel even if a different brand and model. I.e. 26" x 2.0" mountain bike tyres on both wheels not 26" x 2.0" on the front and 26" x 2.4" on the back. If you are sure you have sussed it then it's safe to buy what you need online if its cheaper. If you are not sure then you will need to go to a shop to ensure the right parts. If you have a Decathlon store locally then perhaps that would be the best bet you might be able to match up the tyres as I think Decathlon tend to fit quite cheap low end but competent tyres on their basic bikes like this rebranded btwin and they aren't expensive to buy separately. That's if you need a tyre.

On the side wall of the tyres on the bike it will detail what size and width the tyres on there are - this is the info you need to know in buying inner tubes or replacement tyre. Other than that is to detail the model which would give some idea on what clearance there is to change to different tyre sizes if wanted. Alternatively take the bike into a halfords and they will be able to offer you a suitable inner tube- their value range of inner tubes are not expensive.